2019 Fall Color Report for the North Carolina Mountains, Week 2

Tree branches with one branch having brightly colored leaves

We’re headed s-l-o-w-l-y into the second week of the Fall season in terms of fall foliage, but there are definitely some hints of color here and there (thank you, sourwood trees). Let’s see where to go daytripping to hunt for some early Fall color and which tree we’re profiling this week!

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2017 Fall Color Report for the NC Mountains: Week 4

The weather seems to have gotten back to “Fall normal” as we move through the month of October in the North Carolina mountains around Asheville. Cool nights are back, as are sunny days. And it looks like the color that we do have will be lovely for Week 4 of our fall season.

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2017 Fall Color Report for the NC Mountains: Week 3

Entering mid-October, elevations above 4,500 feet around Asheville sparkle as the tops of the mountains are crowned in gold tones, with orange and red splashes of color as well. It’s Week 3 of the beautiful fall season in western North Carolina and we’re just getting started! Let’s explore!

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2017 Fall Color Report for the NC Mountains: Week 2

It’s been a lovely start to the fall season so far, with pleasant days and cool nights, but a warm end to the first week of October and some rain forecast for the following week may keep color from dashing out of the starting gate at elevations under 5,000 feet. So let’s see where the fall color will shine over the next week or so.

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2017 Fall Color Report for the NC Mountains: Week 1

Our fall color reports for 2017 have officially begun! Autumn is a spectacular season in the North Carolina mountains. Find out how to maximize your leaf peeping in the Asheville area each week with our fall foliage reports. It’s Week One. Let’s begin!

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100 Years of NC State Parks: Mount Mitchell State Park

The year 2016 is the 100th anniversary of the North Carolina State Park System and NC State Parks are celebrating in a big way with events throughout the year. There are nine state parks in the mountains of western North Carolina, and we’re fortunate to have four nearby, which we’ll profile for the next four months. This month, we take a look at Mount Mitchell State Park.

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Blue Ridge Parkway Hike: Graveyard Fields and Its Waterfalls

If you’re looking for a super-scenic day trip hike while staying with us here at Inn on Mill Creek near Asheville, NC, consider a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway to Graveyard Fields. Is it a graveyard? Nope. Is it a field? You could say that… but it’s so much more. Let’s explore.

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Spring Hike: Craggy Gardens on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Craggy Gardens is a section of the North Carolina mountains accessible via the Blue Ridge Parkway, north of Asheville. It has excellent hiking trails, a picnic area, cool mountaintop balds with wild blueberry bushes and dramatic mountain vistas. Read on to see what we saw on our hike of the Craggy Gardens Trail in early May! Hint: Wildflowers galore and other cool stuff that makes us love love love nature.

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Temporary Blue Ridge Parkway Closure near Craggy Gardens [Updated]

Road curving through tree-filled mountain ridges

UPDATE – APRIL 16: The Craggy Gardens area is now open!
We aren’t the only ones who have a project list that we tackle in the wintertime: the National Park Service has been working on projects relating to improving the tunnels on the Blue Ridge Parkway around Asheville, including Tanbark Tunnel at Milepost 374.4 near Craggy Gardens.

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